Robert Saleh was asked about D.J. Reed expressing a belief that the Jets defense could be as historically dominant like the 1985 Bears, and believed Reed was a victim of the “paraphrased generation,” and his quotes were sensationalized in the media’s coverage.
“I do think we have a paraphrase problem,” Saleh said. “When you look at D.J.’s quote, he answered the question, just like every team and player in football would talk about what they think they can be. I think what’s been omitted is how important the moment is, and bringing it back. Yes, there is potential. Every team has the potential to be special this year. All 32 of them.
“I think it’s important to listen to the whole quote and listening to our players, knowing our players are so focused on the moment and trying to get better every single day, and they talk about that. unfortunately, that’s the part that gets omitted in our paraphrased generation, but with that said, I love the mindset of this group and where we’re at.”
Reed’s full comments can be seen here:
“I’m very confident. I think we have the potential to be the best defense in the NFL. Honestly, I think we can be historical, not just the best defense in the league, but I think we can be a historical defense like the ‘85-‘86 Bears or the [Seahawks Legion of Boom] in 2013. I think we can be that dominant if we just put all the things together and we just focus on the now and we’re deliberate, and everyone plays up to their potential. I think the sky’s the limit for us.”
Back to Saleh, while he believes the media took Reed’s comments out of context, he doesn’t see any opposing team using them as bulletin board material.
“If he was disrespecting another team, that’s different,” Saleh said. “I don’t think teams look at another team having confidence in itself as a rallying cry. If you do, I think you’ve already lost. That’s just my opinion.”